Asked by jimmybob
For pea plants, the allele for purple flowers is dominant, and the one for white flowers is recessive. A pea plant with purple flowers can have two different genotypes. Explain what those two genotypes are. Also, explain why both genotypes result in purple flower
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Because pea plants are diploid they carry two alleles for flower color. If purple (P) is dominant and white (p) is recessive, the two genotypes that give purple flowers are:
- PP — homozygous dominant
- Pp — heterozygous
Both genotypes produce purple flowers because the presence of at least one dominant P allele is sufficient to produce the purple phenotype: the P allele’s effect “masks” the p allele in a heterozygote. Only pp (homozygous recessive) yields white flowers. (Molecularly, P typically encodes a functional pigment-producing protein, and one functional copy is enough to make purple pigment.)
- PP — homozygous dominant
- Pp — heterozygous
Both genotypes produce purple flowers because the presence of at least one dominant P allele is sufficient to produce the purple phenotype: the P allele’s effect “masks” the p allele in a heterozygote. Only pp (homozygous recessive) yields white flowers. (Molecularly, P typically encodes a functional pigment-producing protein, and one functional copy is enough to make purple pigment.)
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